Annual parental choice survey finds an overwhelming majority of parents approve of academic gains and support Louisiana’s private school choice program

More than 93 percent of parents participating in the Louisiana Scholarship Program say they approve of the participating school their child attends. The Louisiana Scholarship Program allows students to escape underperforming schools by attending the participating private school of their choice.

The survey found that 93.3 percent of parents are satisfied or very satisfied with their child’s Scholarship Program school, and 95.0 percent are happy with their child’s academic performance.

“There is no voice more critical in the education of a child than that of a parent,” said Ann Duplessis, President of the Louisiana Federation for Children. “Parents participating in the Louisiana Scholarship Program are telling us they are overwhelmingly satisfied with the quality of education their children are receiving through the Louisiana Scholarship Program.”

“The results released today provide clear evidence that the Louisiana Scholarship Program is providing children with access to a high-quality education, in a safe and secure learning environment.”

Survey highlights:

93.3 percent of parents are very satisfied or satisfied with their child’s current scholarship school.

95.0 percent of parents are happy with their child’s academic performance at his/her scholarship school.

99.0 percent of parents say they and their children feel welcome at their child’s current scholarship school.

The annual survey, conducted by LFC, is one of the most comprehensive parental satisfaction surveys of a school choice program, with nearly 1,900 responses.

The Louisiana Scholarship Program received more than 9,000 applications from parents for the 2017-2018 school year. 6,909 students were awarded a scholarship to attend 122 schools in 31 school districts across the state.

Enacted in 2008 by a bipartisan group of legislators, the Louisiana Scholarship Program has the strongest and most transparent accountability measures of any program in the nation. Every child in the program comes from a low-income family, and 89 percent of students in the program are minority students, giving many of Louisiana’s most vulnerable students the opportunity to choose the education that best fits their individual needs.

The Louisiana Federation for Children,a project of the American Federation for Children, seeks to improve Louisiana’s K-12 education by advancing systemic and sustainable public policy that empowers parents, particularly those in low-income families, to choose the education they determine is best for their children.

LFC supports a wide range of educational choice initiatives, so that high quality public, charter and private schools flourish and parents will have the opportunity to select the quality school that works best for their children, and so that teachers will have the flexibility to select the school that best utilizes their strengths and interests. LFC also fights against bills and regulatory attacks that would create barriers for families in existing school choice programs.

The Louisiana Federation for Children is a project of the American Federation for Children and the AFC Growth Fund, dedicated to promoting, protecting, and expanding private school choice and opportunity scholarship programs.

Copyright 2018, Louisiana Federation for Children

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